Tips on Preaching to the Un-churched

God's Warrior

Tips on Preaching to the Un-churched
By Rick Warren - Christian Post Guest Columnist - Fri, Jun. 22 2007

In terms of seeing radical life changes in individuals, nothing can take the place of Spirit-anointed preaching. The message is still the most important element of a worship service for the un-churched. Saddleback’s growth - in spite of hot gymnasiums, cold tents, and crowded parking - has shown that people will put up with a lot of inconveniences and limitations if the messages are genuinely meeting their needs.
Here are a few tips I tend to share with pastors when they ask:
1. You should provide an outline with the scriptures written out.
I provide a printed outline of the message with all the Bible verses that will be used written out on it. There are a number of reasons that I do this:
• The un-churched don't own Bibles.
• It relieves embarrassment in finding texts.
• You can cover more material in less time. I once counted the number of times a well-known pastor said, "Now turn to this" in his message, and I timed how long he took. Seven minutes of his message was spent just turning pages!
• You can have everyone read a verse aloud together because everyone has the same translation.
• You can use and compare multiple translations.
• The audience can circle and underline words for emphasis and take notes in the margins.
• It helps people remember the message. We forget 90 to 95 percent of what we hear within 72 hours. That means by Wednesday your congregation has forgotten all but about 5 percent of what you said Sunday if they didn’t take notes.
• The unchurched don't own Bibles.
• People can review the verses later. They can tape the notes to their refrigerators for review. It can become the basis for small group discussion.
• Members can teach the outline to others. We have a number of businessmen at Saddleback who lead office Bible studies using the previous Sunday’s outline.
The long-lasting value of a message outline with scriptures written out continues to amaze me. Recently a high school biology teacher told me about how God used an outline in his life. He got a call from his teenage daughter, who had been in a car accident. She was fine but the car was totaled – and to make matters worse – it was her fault. He went to pick up his daughter, and, while they were waiting for a tow truck, he sat down on the curb and began to think about how irritated he was at his daughter for being reckless.
As he was getting angrier and angrier, he noticed a piece of paper in the gutter. Recognizing it as one of my sermon outlines, he picked it up. The message and Bible verses were on the topic of "Defusing your Anger!" He now keeps that outline folded in his wallet.
There are so many positive benefits to this method I never speak without using a handout now.
2. You should plan your titles to appeal to the un-churched.
If you scan the church page of your Saturday newspaper, you’ll see that most pastors are not attempting to attract the un-churched with their sermon titles. I’m looking now in the Los Angeles Times and here are some upcoming sermon topics being advertised:
"The Gathering Storm"
"On the Road to Jericho’
"Peter Goes Fishing"
"A Mighty Fortress"
"Walking Instructions"
"Becoming a Titus"
"No Such Thing As a Rubber Clock"
"River of Blood"
"The Ministry of Cracked Pots."
Do any of these titles make you want to hop out of bed and rush to church?
Would any of them appeal to an un-churched person scanning the paper?
I’d like to ask these preachers a question: What are you thinking!
Why waste money advertising titles like these?
Now, granted, I’ve been criticized for using sermon titles for our worship service that sound like Reader’s Digest articles.
But that’s intentional! Reader’s Digest is still one of the best read magazines in America because its articles appeal to human needs, hurts, and interests. People are interested in knowing how to change their lives.

Jesus said, "Yes, worldly people are smarter with their own kind than spiritual people are." (Luke 16:8 NCV).
They understand what captures attention. Jesus expects us to be just as perceptive and strategic in our evangelism:
"I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore, be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." (Mark 10:16 NIV)